Kiveton take over at top
by Paul Barker, 8th July 2007

When the two unbeaten giants of this season’s top section met on Saturday at Stone Close it was fairly obvious that something was going to give, but nobody would have expected it to happen the way it did. Normally the Kiveton wicket is without question one of the very best, but with the amount of rain that has been produced recently, things were rather different as league leaders Cuckney found out to their cost.

They must have thought that they had done a good job when they dismissed Kiveton for just 112 and it could have been much worse had it not been for Sri-Lankan star Harsha Cooray who made a brilliant 45 before succumbing to a ridiculous reverse sweep and getting bowled, and Matty Cartwright who is having an excellent season and was unbeaten on 31.

Cuckney’s Tom Ullyott who is arguably the best slow bowler in the league even allowing for the fact that he is so young took 6 for 33 in a mesmerising spell and his statue continues to rise in the game, and at this point it looked as though they would further cement their place at the top.

However in a complete reversal of fortune, Kiveton’s skipper Richard Spurr turned in a lion hearted performance and Cuckney were all back inside for just 68. Spurr backed by some excellent fielding and brilliant wicket-keeping by Mick Godber took 6 for 21 as Cuckney for the first time this season showed signs of frailties.

On this performance, Kiveton now sit proudly were they deserve to be at the head of the table. They have clearly won more games than any other side and despite three weather draws are looking rather good. In addition to this they now remain the only unbeaten side in the section and whilst they continue to show the ‘we cannot be beaten’ attitude, they will take an awful lot of turning over.

In the match between the third and fourth placed teams Bolsover completely rolled over Cutthorpe by 50 runs at Villas Road. Batting first, Bolsover were in quite a bit of trouble until Chris Pemberton arrived at the crease and he made a mightily impressive 38 that turned the game his side’s way. Andy Rogers (25) and Hasnan Kazim (27) also contributed to the Bolsover score of 153 all out, whilst Farhan Ayub bowled an impeccable line and length to finish with 5 for 34.

Having said all this a total of this proportion should not have worried Cutthorpe in the least, but it most certainly did as they were swept away for just 103. Had it not been for Matt Cluer who astonishingly made a fine 57 it would surely have been a catastrophic disaster as Hasnan Kazim (6 for 26) and Chris Pemberton (3 for 37) showed they were just as adept with the ball as they had been with the bat.

This win surely finishes any lingering hopes that Cutthorpe may have had of joining the front-runners, but Bolsover are right up with them and are now only four points adrift of Cuckney. Anybody who doesn’t respect this side’s ability will quickly realise that they are in serious trouble because Bolsover are a ‘live’ threat to everyone.

An amazing match at Ordsall saw Bridon take sixteen points from a much-needed winning draw against Thoresby Colliery. Batting first, Bridon made a fantastic 279 for 6 with Rob McLeod rolling back the years with a superb 79. Brilliant support came from skipper Wayne Spooner (56) and David Fagan (31) as Bridon piled up the runs at will against a willing but badly overpowered Thoresby attack.

It showed though what can be done with hard work and dedication even in these trying conditions and the Bridon groundsman deserves a medal as big as a dustbin lid for producing a wicket as good as this despite the elements. Thoresby managed an incredible 259 for 6 when they batted with excellent contributions from Martin Cheshire (48), Nigel Birkett (63) and Andrew Pitchford (31 n.o.). There was some encouragement for the bowler if you worked hard enough as Arron Haycock showed taking 3 for 39 in an impressive stint.

All in all this was a tremendous match with Thoresby only twenty runs short of Bridon’s mammoth total, but it will have done Bridon’s survival hopes the power of good in what was a fine display by both sides.

Another match were the wicket was an absolute credit to the groundsman was played out at Park Avenue where the home side, Glapwell and Farnsfield who fielded possibly their strongest side of the season produced a ‘gem’ of a game which yielded 443 runs.

Batting first, Farnsfield got off to a rather tentative start and lost two early wickets before skipper Andy Edwards and the incredible Rashid Riaz ‘steadied the ship’. I know I have said this before and please forgive me if it sounds like I am the ‘President of his fan club’, but Riaz when he is flowing takes the game to another level and this was such one of those games.

From the moment he arrived at the crease, quality and class took over and he played only a couple of false shots, one which went through the slips but landed well short of any fielder, and a miss-hit pull which dropped in the deep when he was in the ninety’s on his way to a magnificent 111. He scored 11 fours and one six in a masterful display and when he was joined by Paul Franks it was like watching ‘Poetry in Motion’.

Not to be outdone, Franks was unbeaten on 67 with one monumental blow for six in a superb aggressive knock. Lewis Saxby was the best of the Glapwell attack taking 2 for 52 in a fine spell of bowling as Farnsfield closed on 252 for 4.

The Glapwell innings followed a similar pattern and two early wickets were lost before skipper Matt Hall and Nick Truswell came together to almost turn the game right around. Both of these two kept their side right in the game with Hall in particular playing some exquisite strokes and Truswell producing the power in his best innings for a long while.

There can be no doubting that Farnsfield were worried as the score spiralled upwards to 170 for 2 when Paul Franks returned to bowl Truswell for a superb 56. This completely stood the game on its head and when Hall was trapped lbw shortly after by Riaz (yes he can bowl as well) for a brilliant 70 the tide had turned and Farnsfield were back in the box seat.

Wickets tumbled at regular intervals and it took a defiant stand by Dean Graney and Shaun Johnson to help Glapwell stave off defeat at 191 for 8. Paul Franks (3 for 47) and Rashid Riaz (3 for 31) emulated their performances with the bat as they both did their ‘bit’ with the ball in what could only be described as a magnificent match.

Back to the low scoring games and Marshalls needing a six to win off the last ball had to settle for a draw as Mark Davies was bowled. Apparently there was a tremendous shower at Marshalls on Saturday morning and had this come an hour later there would have been grave doubts whether play would have been possible, but having said that the two sides produced a low scoring but extremely entertaining game.

Notts. & Arnold Amateur their opponents were bowled out for 152 with Shav Yaqoob top scoring on 33 not out. Mark Davies with 3 for 48 was the pick of the Marshalls attack and they must have fancied their chances at this point.

In reply however, some good bowling by Shav Yaqoob (3 for 24) and Dave Wood (3 for 43) soon had Marshalls in trouble and it all boiled down to Davies needing to hit the last ball of the match for six which he failed to do, but it is to his credit that he virtually saved the game for his side making 31 extremely valuable runs before getting out.

Marshalls finished on 147 for 9, and both teams should be happy that they gathered a few much needed points to add to their respective totals.

Second division leaders Waleswood almost came to grief on their own patch against Blidworth before the match was tied on 103 runs each. An out of character but nevertheless important 49 from Dave Willcock who was at the crease for most of the Blidworth innings finally saw his team reach three figures whilst Gareth Davies was again amongst the thick of things with an impressive 3 for 11 as Blidworth closed on 103 for 8.

The way they have been playing would have suggested that Waleswood would have cleared this obstacle easily but this was one of those days. Wickets fell quickly and with only Rana Raff (31) defying the Blidworth attack, a surprise began to look imminent. It looked even more so when Humoyun Kabir, Blidworth’s new bowling recruit took the hat-trick on his way to figures of 4 for 17 and  Waleswood needed a four to win off the last ball with only one wicket standing in what had developed into a titanic struggle.

They got three of them mainly thanks to a miss-field but it certainly was a match that both sides will remember for a long while.

Edwinstowe just managed to secure a victory at Everton, but not without a shock or two along the way. Batting first, Everton have been indebted to the brilliant Jon Mimms on many occasions but even he surpassed himself on this one. Mimms made a fantastic 108 out of an all out total of 157, which is quite extraordinary to say the least. South African Dean Elgar (5 for 42) and young Aaron Rhodes (3 for 2) were the pick of the Edwinstowe attack.

Any thoughts Edwinstowe might have had that this was easy were quickly dispelled and they must have been mighty grateful to Dean Elgar (54) who enjoyed a fine all round match and the under rated Jon Garnham who always produces the goods when they need them most, who made a hugely valuable 39 as they squeezed home on 160 for 8 by just two wickets. Andy Snell (4 for 51) and Chris Woods (3 for 43) both bowled superbly but Everton needed a few more runs to play with.

Eckington did their chances a power of good when they literally crucified Mansfield & Pleasley by eight wickets. The Mansfield side are now beginning to look like prime relegation candidates and it will need a huge change in form to change this situation.

Eckington in the shape of Luke Dawson (3 for 18) and Simon West (4 for 15) simply ran through some feeble batting and Mansfield & Pleasley were all back inside for just 63 which was never going to trouble Eckington very much. It didn’t and although they lost two wickets in reaching 64 their was never much doubt Eckington were going to pick up possibly the easiest twenty points they have picked up this season. It is still tight at the top and Eckington remain sixteen points adrift of Waleswood and Edwinstowe with a match in hand. This section will go right down to the wire and it will be very interesting all the way.

Papplewick & Linby 2nds are certainly not out of it also and in the best and most competitive match in this section they managed a winning draw with Caythorpe 2nds who fell only three runs short with only one wicket standing. Papplewick must have been extremely thankful to Matt Dear who made a superb 86 and Tim Clark who assisted with 29 as their side totalled 210 for 5. Andrew Staszkiewicz (4 for 44) was the best of the Caythorpe attack as they battled to keep the total within proportion.

As the match closed Caythorpe had made a super effort and closed on 208 for 9 with Paul Reddington (43), Richard Beaumont (41) and Peter Mansfield (50) all taking them so close to what would have been a tremendous victory. Mansfield’s was the vital wicket at a time when Caythorpe looked in command but when he was dismissed they fell just short on 208 for 9. Ian Hardy (3 for 51) and Steve Alford (4 for 55) were the Papplewick in-form bowlers in what was a tremendous game of cricket.

Whitwell batted better than in recent weeks but still face a long hard battle to avoid the drop after losing to Anston at the Rookery. Batting first, Anston made a respectable 209for 8 with Michael Norbury top scoring with a brilliant 72. Terrific support came from Andrew Ruczenczyn (41 n.o.) whilst Whitwell skipper Heath Bush was the inspiration for his side, taking 4 for 29 in a very good spell.

In reply despite a super knock of 76 by Dave Jessop, Whitwell were bowled out for just 161. Andrew Ruczenczyn who enjoyed a fine all round match took 3 for 46 and Graham Tweed (3 for 37) were the in form Anston bowlers as their side picked up twenty useful points.

Mansfield Hosiery Mills 2^nd picked up maximum points against North Wheatley with Leverton and must have wondered at times how they had managed to do it. At 76 for 5, Hosiery Mills were in big trouble but excellent work by Kyle Garside (43) and Craig Brittlebank (31) rescued them as they recovered to 170 all out which was many more than they could have expected. Jamie Bovill (4 for 43) was the pick of the North Wheatley attack, but several dropped catches didn’t do their cause any good either.

In reply North Wheatley were sailing along at 80 for 2 when the wheels came off in spectacular style. Wayne Harrison (52) and Matt Gregory (34) had set them up for a victory but then Hosiery Mills in the shape of Kyle Garside (3 for 16) who enjoyed a brilliant all round match, and Darren Shepherd (4 for 31) turned the game right around. North Wheatley were dismissed for just 158, just twelve runs short but whilst Hosiery Mills deserve all credit for their fighting spirit when things were going against them, North Wheatley must have been amazed at how they managed to lose.